As Coach Mourns, Somber U.S. Men Play and Win

By JOHN BRANCH

Published: August 11, 2008

BEIJING -- The signs of grief were subtle. There were the initials of the victims scrawled on the back of the shoes, and a quick, impromptu moment of silence before the match.

But the emotion was obvious on Sunday after the United States men's volleyball team won its opening Olympic match without Coach Hugh McCutcheon, whose father-in-law was stabbed to death at a popular Beijing tourist site the day before.

When McCutcheon became the head coach of the team in early 2005, he set the agenda for the next few years with one thing in mind.

''He said, 'Hey, this first match in the Olympic Games is what we're gearing up for,''' the team captain and middle blocker Thomas Hoff said. ''Obviously, we wish he could be here, even though we understand why he's not.''

The Americans, considered a medal contender, needed all five sets to beat Venezuela, making its Olympic volleyball debut. And when it ended, the fading shock and lingering emotion of the previous 24 hours were evident by the hushed tones of players, coaches and officials.

It remains uncertain whether McCutcheon will return to the team. The assistant Ron Larsen was elevated to interim coach in McCutcheon's absence.

''I'd much rather be sitting on the bench, telling him what I think we should be doing and having him say, I don't think so, rather than where I am right now,'' Larsen said.

The father-in-law, Todd Bachman, 62, died Saturday after being attacked at the Drum Tower. His wife, Barbara, sustained many stab wounds and underwent eight hours of surgery on Saturday. She was in stable but critical condition on Sunday.

One of their three daughters, Elisabeth Bachman McCutcheon, who played on the 2004 United States women's Olympic volleyball team and married McCutcheon in December 2006, was with her parents during the attack. She was not injured.

The attacker, identified by Xinhua News Agency as 47-year-old Tang Yongming of Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province, jumped to his death from a 130-foot balcony of the tower, originally constructed in the 13th century.

The three Americans were not wearing anything that identified them as part of the United States Olympic delegation, according to the United States Olympic Committee, leading to the belief that it was a random act of violence.

McCutcheon, a 38-year-old New Zealander, spoke to the team on Saturday night via conference call. It was a sort of pep talk, for the people on both ends.

McCutcheon did not tell his players whether he planned to rejoin the team during the tournament, which extends to Aug. 24, the last day of the Olympics.

''Hugh is attending to Wiz and to Mrs. Bachman,'' the team manager, Rob Browning, said before the match, using Elisabeth Bachman McCutcheon's nickname. ''He doesn't know if or when he'll be able to return to the team.''

There was no discussion about postponing Sunday's match. ''It was never offered, never considered,'' Browning said.

The teams took the court at the same time to polite applause. Many in the crowd probably did not know about the attack because it was not widely reported in the Chinese news media. Many of the spectators were from China and wore matching shirts. They were brought in by Olympics organizers to help fill the venues and add to the atmosphere with choreographed cheers. The Americans cruised through the first two sets, but struggled to shake the Venezuelans. The fans began pulling for the underdog. Venezuela won the third and fourth sets, but the Americans regrouped to claim victory, 25-18, 25-18, 22-25, 21-25, 15-10.

The players slid through the mixed zone, the lane between the court and the locker room where interviews are conducted, without stopping to talk to the dozens of American journalists who had come to watch a match that otherwise would have attracted few. Questions at the coaches' news conference were almost entirely for Larsen, not Venezuela Coach Ricardo Navajas.

Larsen cited the strong ties between the Bachmans and USA Volleyball. ''I think the best way we can honor them is to do the only thing we can do, and that is to go out and compete every day and work hard every day, and enjoy and love the game of volleyball,'' Larsen said. ''It is a game, you know. And we should be enjoying it and loving it, as they did.''

PHOTOS: Top, William Priddy of the U.S. team, which defeated Venezuela in five sets. Above, Ron Larsen, the interim coach, with Riley Salmon. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY DOUG KANTER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)